Twin sisters, Hourshid and Mehrshid Afrakhteh are two percussionists of Daf and Tombak, traditional Iranian percussions. They have played in many different occasions such as in Metz (France), in Québec L’occident et l’orient, in Toronto Horizon; in charity concerts for Congo and Peru, and in various multicultural activities, etc. They play traditional percussion improvisations in solo and duet format. Body Percussion is another form of rhythmic improvisations they play and develop since 2009. Their original compositions based on rhythmic improvisations on Daf and Tombak are combined with stampings, clippings, clapping, and other rhythmic expression forms. They are also pianists, and have studied at the conservatory in France (Conservatoire national). Graduated with two Master’s Degrees in “Piano Performance” and “Piano Pedagogy” from Laval University in Québec in 2009, they teach percussion, body percussion, piano, history and theory of music in private and group lessons, in home or in music schools more than 8 years now. Residing in Toronto city since May 2009, they are part of the Red Moon Group musicians and play regularly in cultural/social events.

Daf and Tombak & and Body Percussion

In the First part of the program we will include:

1. A set of duo Daf and Tombak performance;
2. A brief history of Daf and Tombak and their usage in different periods of history;
3. Demonstration of technical aspects in solo or duo playing;
4. Demonstration of their musical notation

In the Second part:

1. A set of duo Body Percussion performance
2. Demonstration of techniques and the use of this kind of percussion instrument to students;
3. Student’s experimentation and try on their own body, using different sounds parts to result in different soundings by stamping feet, clapping hands, clicking fingers, etc.